Re-imagining Citizenship in Kenya

The ‘Shareholding’ Metaphor and its Implications for National Security

Abstract

The ideas of citizenship in uncertain security settings are in flux. The principles of citizenship are under question, not only in terms of their direct bearing on national security but also in their privatization. Kenya is not an exception: the nation-state is becoming increasingly similar to a private corporation, in which citizens are considered to be the owners of shares, depending on how they vote during the general elections. The derogatory term “shareholding” has gained popularity in society. The partisans and coalition that gain power after an election are referred to as the majority shareholders in the government, and the electoral losers are considered to have no or a few shares and, hence, minimal right to the resources and opportunities of the population. Even though the concept of legal citizenship remains universal and protected by the 2010 Constitution, the metaphor of informal shareholding essentially redefines the everyday sense of belonging and rightful access to privileges, generating exclusionary practices in a manner different from those of formal citizenship. The paper discusses the question of why and how the shareholding metaphor has emerged and gained momentum and empirically demonstrates how it functions as a parallel, politically constructed form of hierarchical belonging that privatizes public space and weakens national security. Using purposively selected key informant interviews (including respondents who defend the metaphor as a legitimate political reward and those who dismiss it as harmless rhetoric) and historical analysis of post-independence regimes, the study demonstrates continuity in exclusionary practices from Kenyatta’s administration to the present. Drawing on an expanded literature on hybrid governance, clientelism, neo-patrimonialism and performative belonging, this proposal presents a citizen-centric hybrid model that deliberately integrates formal state institutions with inclusive participatory practices to counter the shareholder narrative and enhance national security.